


The Girl in the Snow Globe

by Inevitably_Apropos



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, Romance, Toy AU, inspired by umikopineapple's FT fanart, slight angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-12
Updated: 2016-05-14
Packaged: 2018-06-08 00:06:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6830872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inevitably_Apropos/pseuds/Inevitably_Apropos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She'd been imprisoned alone, inside a beautiful glass dome, with snow's whiteness and a little red house as her only companions. And he was just an ordinary toy, who happened to stumble upon her, while scavenging around the attic. #Gruvia #ToyAU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/n: This was originally posted on my Tumblr account and was inspired by umikopineapple's drawing of Toy AU Gray and Juvia. The picture left a mark on me and I just had to write it.

**o-o**

The first time Gray laid his eyes on her small form, slightly slumped in the middle of the huge glass ball, right beside a miniature red house; he was surprised. Surprised then turned to wonder and curiosity, followed by a strange sense of anger. Anger for what? He didn't know.

He would never have found her, inside this vast room of dusty forgotten stuff, if Erza hadn't ordered him to find something useful, for the upcoming birthday party of their little Asuka. Her mother had baked a delicious strawberry cake, while her father had decorated their living room with colorful balloons and party ribbons.

So her toys also came to an agreement, to make a surprise present for their sweet owner, the moment she came home from school. It was the least they could do, as a thank you gift, for the little girl who had taken good care of them.

His mission was to find something that could be used for the giant Asuka sculpture Erza had in mind; though he still had his doubts on how they could come up with it. They were, after all, just common toys.

But what the brunette didn't expect to find was a _girl_ inside a snow globe.

He wouldn't have noticed the existence of the snow globe, because he was busily rummaging inside other cardboard boxes, if it wasn't for a distant crying sound. Pitiful sobs that got the little toy curious. He searched for its source and found it on top of an old wooden box. Molds had stuck itself on all its side, like a parasite sucking the life out of its prey.

A small glass orb was perched on top of it, carefully hidden from sight; dust gathered around it. Tattered pieces of cloth were also scattered on both sides, which he had used as a form of leverage to heave himself up, careful not to fall halfway through.

After an excruciatingly long climb, Gray dusted himself off and walked closer to the object that caught his attention. He studied the giant orb. Its walls glistened to small rays of light coming from the small window sill at the other end of the musky room, with one of its panes hanging dangerously at an angle, ready to fall off at a touch of a feather.

He removed the hood of his blue jacket covering his head, and walked around it a twice, making sure not to get tangled with all the strewn pieces of cloth laid everywhere. The outside of the glass reflected too much light; it was hard to see what was inside its inner walls.

"What is this thing?" he asked aloud, and peered inside the orb. The brunette squinted his eyes, and he flattened his face on the glass' cold surface. Natsu would have laughed at him, if he ever saw Gray's face distorted in all angles, like a squashed fly on a car's windshield. Knocking a couple of times, he wondered what could be inside the glass globe.

_There's something there… No, someone…? Why is it so hard to look inside this fucking glass?!_

Gray blinked. His blurry vision focused on a small figure not to far off. "A girl? What's she doing there?"

The said girl wore an old looking gray hat and coat, which didn't seem to warm her enough, for her slim body was shaking. Long curly blue locks flowed down just below her shoulder. Her soft porcelain skin glistened beautifully as snow slowly fell from the glass sky, and floated around her.

Gray was mesmerized by the unknown girl. And when his eyes met her sparkling blue ones, it was as if time had frozen everything in its path.

* * *

Juvia had always been alone, trapped inside this giant beautiful glass prison. She was created by her maker to become the most beautiful lady of the snow. A little red house was also crafted for her, which stood in the middle, its roof covered in white snow. At first, she was very happy to be placed on display next to her creator's shop window.

Passersby would always stop at the shop's window and smile as they gazed at her beautifully crafted glass home. Their compliments always made her heart flutter and her cheeks redder. And she was more than happy, when one day, a beautiful woman with long beautiful green hair stopped by at the shop and bought her.

 _'_ _She's beautiful_ ,' the woman said.

 _'Yes, she is. She's the most beautiful among all of my creations,_ ' her creator answered. _'Her name is Juvia.'_

 _'Juvia, huh?'_ She smiled at Juvia. _'She a beautiful name. I would like to take her, please.'_

The creator beamed at the woman and guided her towards the cash register. Juvia watched with great wonder at her new owner, and as her beautiful glass orb was wrapped inside an elegant box, her creator's last words was engraved in her mind.

_'I hope you always find happiness, Juvia-chan.'_

And she did find happiness, if only, for a short while. Her new lady owner always took great care of her, with all the warmth and love she possessed. Her days were always filled with beautiful stories from the green-haired woman.

Juvia thought that these days would always last. But she was wrong. Her misery had arrived in the form a huge cardboard box, held in both her owner's arms; its color like that of a rotten tree bark. Things were placed one by one inside the devil's mouth; her snow globe not an exception.

She didn't know how much time had passed since then. The sun had completely vanished, what surrounded her was the never ending whiteness of snow, and darkness beyond it. She silently cried alone, and allowed sleep to take her away, into the vastness of the clear blue skies her mind could only conjure.

Juvia awoke to the sound of knocking. Her bleary eyes tried to regain its focus as a realization dawn on her.

 _Juvia's been crying again,_ she thought miserably. Her tears had been her companion, together with the white cold snow, and dainty red house, which brought less happiness to her isolation. She was a porcelain girl trapped in a caged glass of forgotten time.

Her sullen musing had been disrupted, by the sound of three short curious knocks, tapping against the hard glass dome. She sat up slowly and pulled her legs closer to her chest. She was afraid. This wasn't the first time she'd heard these disturbing sounds before.

Once, her curiosity had almost given her a heart attack, when stood closer to it's inner walls, and a huge dirty black rat emerged at of nowhere. It screeched with great intensity; she was sure her globe would shatter. The rodent had tried to break into the glass with its razor sharp claws, but eventually gave up, and sauntered away into the dark crevices of the attic.

After that, she stayed in the middle of her snow globe.

It had given her countless nightmares and she would always awake screaming at night. And as she watched a dark silhouette slowly form, fear gripped her heart, like a snake poised to strike at its shaking prey.

But the dark figure's form had molded into something familiar, she thought she would never see again.

_'Is that… a face?'_

Juvia thought in surprise. Her blue eyes widened as it locked on with a pair of dark eyes, also staring at her with astonishment. She slowly stood up and cautiously walked towards the unknown being.

"Who-?" she called out gently. "Who is it?"

Short knocking sounds were the answers she received. And as she stood only inches away from the glass barrier, Juvia met the toy that changed her life forever. "Who are you?"

Gray could feel his jaw drop. He'd seen a lot of pretty toys before, like Lucy, with her sun-kissed blonde hair, that even Barbie would be envious of. Or Erza - in her different battle armors. Not to mention Mirajane, who was the most popular toy manufactured on the planet. It wasn't only little girls who bought the limited edition Mirajane dolls, but also, pervy old men and their weird wanton thoughts.

"I- Uhm…" he answered dumbly. His little toy brain seemed to have malfunctioned and was unable to process a coherent answer. There was just something ethereal about the porcelain girl inside the glass orb, that tugged at something foreign, deep within him. What it was, he just couldn't put his finger on.

And as if she sensed Gray's discomfort, she smiled at him and laughed. A soft tinkling sound that were like soft music to his ears. He grinned back.

"Hi, name's Gray Fullbuster."

The girl's cheeks reddened and looked away shyly. Her lips moved inaudibly and Gray had to press his ear closer to hear what she was saying.

"What? Can't hear ya," he said.

"J-juvia," she answered, and twiddled her fingers together, a habit she had taken when she was nervous. "Juvia Lockser."

"So, what are you doin' here by yourself?" He placed his hands inside his jacket's front pocket, only to notice that he was now half-naked. "Damn it. Where did my blue jacket go?"

Juvia's already flushed face turned another shade of red, as she stared at the toy's wonderfully carved pectorals, and remembered to cover her eyes. "J-juvia h-had been here for a very long time now. She had been…"

Not minding the girl's reaction, Gray searched for his missing jacket and found it lying a couple of feet away from him. "Had been what?" he asked while dressing himself.

She shook her head and sadly smiled at him instead. "Nothing. This is the first time Juvia had seen someone up here in a very long time. What led you here, Gray- _sama_?"

"Gray- _sama_?" He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Well… I was suppose to find something useful here for the party downstairs. But I got distracted, somehow."

"Party?"

"Yeah, it's our owner's birthday today, you see."

Juvia felt her heart break once more. "Oh. I see."

Noticing the girl's melancholy expression, Gray shifted topics. "So…" he started awkwardly, again. "You've never been out of this giant glass thing?"

He tapped the glass with his fingers a few times. Juvia nodded in affirmation.

"So, you've never set foot _outside_ before? Like _seen_ the outside world?"

"Juvia had always been inside the snow globe. But she had seen the outside world before when she was still on display at her creator's shop window," she explained.

"Oh. That sucks."

She giggled and shook her head. "Juvia doesn't think so. To be honest, Juvia is very grateful that she was given such a beautiful home to stay."

Gray took a good look at the interior of the giant glass orb. True enough, it was beautifully designed, but it somehow felt… _lonely_. There was no one inside it besides the blue-haired porcelain girl.

"Yeah, I guess it's beautiful," he agreed. "But don't you feel lonely inside there? All by yourself?"

He carefully watched as series of emotions played on her beautiful face. Juvia's lower lip trembled. She clenched her hands into tiny fists, and softly answered.

"Juvia's used to it now."

The brunette was at a complete loss of words. He saw the sadness that glistened at the corners of her blue eyes. He knew that type of sadness because he had once felt it before. He, too, had been abandoned.

He opened his mouth but was interrupted by Erza's booming voice.

"Gray! Have you found anything useful there yet?" her voice bellowed from outside the door. The redhead's voice was enough to send fear running up and down his spine.

"Ah, crap! I gotta go!" Gray hurriedly ran towards the edge of the box, and climbed back down, but not before looking back at the girl inside the snow globe.

"I promise to see you again soon. Nice to meet ya, Juvia!" he said, grinning, and waved his hand.

"Ah… Yes!" Juvia exclaimed and waved back. She watched the dark-haired toy ran out of the attic room and felt her heart skipped a beat.

"It was nice to meet you too, _Gray_ ," she whispered, smiling.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She'd been imprisoned alone, inside a beautiful glass dome, with snow's whiteness and a little red house as her only companions. And he was just an ordinary toy, who happened to stumble upon her, while scavenging around the attic. #Gruvia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second part of the Gruvia Toy AU based on the beautiful drawings of umikopineapple. Check it out on Tumblr! 
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.

**o-o**

Gray visited the dusty attic the following day. He didn't know what kind of force compelled him to say the words yesterday that promised his return. But he did. And he always kept his promises because he was a man - or toy - with honor. Not to mention, Erza would beat the living shit out of him if he didn't keep true to his words.

When he told the whole gang about finding a girl inside a snow globe in the attic, he already expected several of their outbursts. Natsu, like the idiot that he was, exclaimed they should smash the glass globe and save her. With his outburst, followed Lucy's mighty slap on the pink-haired dragon toy's head and explained to him the reasons why they couldn't do that. Which to the utter frustration of the blonde doll, Natsu still didn't understand why.

Erza, casually dressed in her knight armor, suggested to visit the attic to meet the porcelain girl - Juvia. Everyone instantly agreed with the knight's idea, well, all except for Gray. His reaction to the redhead's suggestion was a surprise to everyone, even to Gray himself. And he was starting to get worried that he was slowly losing his sanity.

"Ohhh.. Do you want her all to yourself, Gray?" Mira teased lightly. But there was a mischievous glint in her eyes that sent terror running up and down his spine.

"I do not!"He replied hotly _. "_ Where the hell did you even get that idea?!"

Warmth was slowly spreading across his face, and he was sure an embarrassing rosy color now painted his cheeks, if Mira's widened grin had any indication of it. He continued on just to prove his point.

 _"_ Look. We can't all just barge into the attic, even if we all wanted to. And **not** because I wanted Juvia all for myself," he said, glaring at a snickering Mirajane. "Everyone knows Asuka will definitely notice if a huge number of us will suddenly disappear, right? You know as well as I do that she has a strange cunning ability of knowing if one of her toys goes missing. And I don't want **that** same experience to repeat **again**."

Gray shuddered at the memory of Asuka looking for her toys one day, but found only a few of them, when the girl returned from school. Because her toys had suddenly gone MIA to execute an impromptu rescue mission for the resident toy princess, Lucy, when she was abducted by an old perverted man, with a strange fetish to blonde dolls. The mission took a whole day to finish, after fighting some other insane toys along the way, Natsu getting stuck at a bubble gum machine, and Erza pointing her gigantic sword at their enemies.

Overall, they were able to get the blonde doll back which further strengthened the bonds between all of them, especially between the Princess and her Dragon. But when they reached back home they found a crying, or more like wailing, brokenhearted 4-year old girl. And not even her own parents could pacify the child, not until all of them had safety return did her tears dry, and a beautiful smile bloomed on her face.

"I think Gray has a point,"Lucy agreed, then shuddered as memories flooded her mind. _"_ Asuka will get worried if we suddenly disappear... again."

Nodding in understanding, Erza answered in agreement. "I see. Then we'll just meet Juvia, one toy at a time."

All of the gathered toys nodded in silent acknowledgement. They really didn't want their little owner to worry too much about them, even if they all did want to meet the certain toy in the attic.

"I still think Gray wants Juvia-chan all for himself, though," Mira commented coyly, then nudged at Lucy with a smirk. "Right Lucy?"

Answering the white-haired doll with her own smirk, Lucy said with a grin, "Yes, I think he does, Mira."

"Damn it, Mira! Stop putting thoughts into other people's mind!" Gray shouted indignantly as laughter erupted around him.

Seriously, it was a huge pain in the ass whenever Mirajane was concerned. Her meddlesome personality always left a disconcerting feeling in Gray for it seemed she had made it her own personal profession to become everyone's matchmaker. He had somewhat managed to stay out of her uncanny matchmaking radar, after that whole debacle Mira setup between Lucy and him, though it was very obvious the blonde only had eyes for the pyromaniac salmon-head toy.

 _'I'll need to come up with a plan to escape Mira's evil clutches, soon,'_ he grumbled to himself.

Slowly ascending the stairs that led to the house's musky attic, Gray sighed in exasperation. He had to be extra careful from now on. The white-haired doll's interest was once again locked on him, and it was going to be tricky to elude her matchmaking schemes.

Carefully opening the creaking door, his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness of the place. It still always made him visibly cringe at how dreary the room was. He straightened his blue jacket, and mentally congratulated himself for not losing it along the way, together with his other clothes.

After one last check that everything was still in place and the package tied on his back was still secure, he searched for the wooden box where the glass globe silently sat on top of it. Excitement was slowly building inside him. He couldn't understand why he was feeling this way, though he really was never good in deciphering his own feelings to begin with, and just normally shove everything with a casual shrug. But this time, it was different. His curiosity was nagging him.

And it wanted answers.

* * *

When Gray finally saw Juvia, she was standing in the middle of the glass globe, with her eyes closed and arms outstretched in front of her. Falling snow seemed to dance like glittering crystals around her slim figure. And a small puff of air formed with each steady breath she made.

He watched in pure fascination, as time seemed to have stopped moving, and felt that strange sensation deep inside him again.

 _'Beautiful…'_ he thought, entranced.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and felt as if someone was looking at her through the glass barrier. Slowly turning her head towards his direction, the radiant smile she gave him was enough for butterflies to start fluttering inside his stomach, and color his face red.

"Gray-sama!" Juvia happily exclaimed and ran towards him. "You really _did_ visit Juvia again! Juvia is _so_ happy to see you!"

Gray chuckled and waved at the girl. "Yeah. I promised I'd come back again, didn't I?"

A beautiful rosy color painted her smooth porcelain cheeks. She hid her reddening face beneath a heavy curtain of blue hair. But Gray could see a smile played on her soft lips.

Honestly, Juvia _had_ doubted the toy's word and tried to not let hope bloom in her heart because the pain would invariably be, well, _painful_. She didn't want to feel it anymore. And it was terrifying to always hope; she had sadly learned.

But Gray had returned as he had promised and she glowed with unabashed delight. She almost didn't notice the things he had tied behind his back.

Unable to keep the curiousity at bay, Juvia shyly asked. "What are those behind you, Gray-sama?" She looked at them with open curiosity and patiently waited as he slowly untied the string which bound several items together. There was a piece of scrap paper, a crayon, and what looked like a small yellow flower.

Placing the things near her, just outside the glass, he looked at her with a grin. "These are things I wanted to show you," he answered. "This is for you."

Juvia couldn't hide the surprised on her face for it had been a while since she saw something from the outside. "F-for me?" she asked uncertainly.

The brunette nodded and held the flower to her. "Asuka played outside in the garden this morning. And well, I-I thought it would be nice to give you something from the outside since you haven't been outside for a long time, you know."

Gray knew he was blabbering like an idiot but he couldn't seem to help it. Watching the awed expression of Juvia made his stomach tightened in knots. And when her deep blue eyes gazed back at him, with a dazzling smile displayed on her lips, he couldn't help but feel smug and mentally congratulated himself for letting his meddlesome friends badger him to bring something for Juvia for today's visit.

"It's _beautiful_ ," she whispered, with glittering unshed tears in her eyes. Her hands slowly traced the flower petals on the glass wall while his eyes followed her movements silently. "Thank you, Gray-sama. I promise to treasure this forever."

Feeling unsettled, Gray looked for a post close enough to the glass dome where he could tie the flower, but found none, and just decided to lay it down right beside the orb.

"You're welcome," he replied awkwardly. "It wasn't my idea at first but I'm happy you liked it."

Juvia nodded happily. "I am. But what about the paper and crayon?"

He smiled sheepishly at her, then sat right next to the glass orb, bringing the piece of paper and crayon with him. "We just finished play time for today and I actually wanted to escape someone's evil clutches as much as I can," he said. "So I thought we could use these two to pass the time. Or until it's safe for me to return back."

The slightly horrified look he gave made Juvia worried but eventually laughed when his pleading eyes gazed at her. She shook her head slightly and wondered if she was having some kind of placid dream. A dream that would soon end the moment she blinked and opened her eyes because she knew it was too good to be true. To have someone to chat with again, after all those long moments of isolation in this dark and murky room, it was the kind of situation only her imagination could conjure.

But she was happy nonetheless. Someone was with her right now and she was thankful; because it kept her loneliness at bay, if not for short while. And Juvia would make the most out of this blissful dream.

"Then you're welcome to stay here for as long as you want, Gray-sama," Juvia replied cheerfully.

* * *

Gray visited Juvia every day. Each day he would bring something with him like flowers, additional crayons, and other things the other toys thought she would like. And each time, Juvia felt like she was the happiest toy ever. She couldn't remember the time she felt as happy as she was whenever Gray visited her.

He would also tell stories about their quirky little owner and his fellow toys. From what she'd learned so far, Erza was a scarlet-haired fairy knight toy who protected the blonde fairy Princess Lucy against the evil clutches of the blue cat plushie, Happy, who also had a pet pink-haired dragon toy called Natsu.

Happy and Natsu would terrorize the citizens of the fairy toy kingdom and it was up to Erza and the rest of the toy soldiers to protect everyone. Juvia thought it was a very charming and wished she could also play together with everyone, especially together with the toy just outside her glass dome. But it was only wistful thinking for her because there was no way she would be able to escape the glass dome that currently imprisoned her. However, Juvia was a dreamer and she would keep dreaming for as long as she could; hoping that one day she could also be a part of his world. A world beyond the dark, murky attic.

She listened intently as Gray continued to tell stories about the other toys as well. About the most famous doll named Mirajane, who also had other younger toy siblings named Elfman and Lisanna. Although when he mentioned the previous doll's name, Juvia couldn't help notice how his complexion had somewhat paled, and cold sweat formed on his head. Asking if Gray was feeling ill, she furrowed her brows in suspicion when he merely shrugged his shoulders stiffly and shook his head.

Ignoring the nagging suspicion at the moment, Juvia continued to listen in rapt amusement as Gray showed weird drawings of the different toys he was close friends with. She couldn't help but laugh aloud as blissful happiness swelled inside of her.

And she also felt jealous.

In her isolation, Juvia had often wondered what the outside world would be like. She had seen it before; but it was only behind the cold glass interior of her snow globe. She often imagined what it would feel like to bask under the warm rays of the golden sun, or to feel the soft breeze of the wind on her cheeks, or to taste the little droplets of rain that abated the thirst of the patiently waiting earth. Everything was still a complete mystery to her.

She wanted to know what it felt like to be free from this glass dome that was supposed to be her home; but inadvertently became her own prison. She wanted…

 _Juvia wanted to know how it felt like to be in Gray's arms._ She blushed at the thought.

Would he be cold? Like the expression he often wore when he was disinterested about something that didn't concern him? Juvia doubted that. Gray had given her the warmest of smiles that had driven the cold loneliness in her heart. He was like a ray of warm light after the rain.

"Juvia?" Gray's voice had pulled her out of her gloomy thoughts.

"Yes Gray-sama?" She replied, smiling.

"I-," he continued, then paused. Juvia stared at the toy quizzically and wondered what he was thinking.

Hesitating, Gray's fingers fidgeted at the hem of his blue jacket, wanting the annoying piece of clothing off, and his nervousness only made matters worse. He didn't understand why he was feeling this nervous. It was funny. Natsu would have snickered at him if he ever saw Gray losing his cool like this.

During the times he'd visited Juvia, he'd taken the rare chance of analyzing what that annoying buzzing feeling that started to take root at the pits of his stomach meant. And most of the times, he thought of it as mere indigestion. But negated that thought immediately because, well, he was a bloody toy. And toys _do not_ eat human food, no matter how much of it was stuffed on his face, during teatime with Asuka.

So, it must be something else.

His eyes wondered on Juvia, who was patiently waiting for whatever crap he was about to stay and his gaze silently traced the cold exterior of the glass, then slowly traced the soft contours of her porcelain cheeks, with two small red spots coloring it beautifully.

"I-" He started again, then sighed deeply. "No, it's nothing. Never mind about it."

Panicking, Juvia's bright blue eyes widened in alarm. "Gray-sama, please tell Juvia what's wrong," she pleaded. "If there's something that Juvia can do, even if she's inside this snow globe, she'll do anything to help."

She placed both hands on the dome's glass and looked at him earnestly. Somehow, her beckoning stare started to nerve him and he sighed in defeat.

"It's just… I dunno how exactly to say it," Gray said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"Don't worry Gray-sama," Juvia said, coaxing him to speak further. "Whatever it is, Juvia will listen."

Unable to meet her expectant eyes, he lowered his head and said under his breath, "I won't be able to visit your tomorrow... or even the day after that."

Juvia felt her heart stop. He wasn't going to see her anymore? Did she do something wrong which displeased him? Was he angry at her?

_Will Juvia be alone again?_

So many negative thoughts passed through her mind that she was only able to stare at him with wide eyes.

"I-I see," Juvia replied meekly. She felt her eyes water and fought desperately to keep her composure. She didn't want Gray to see her cry. Because if she started crying now, she didn't know if she could manage to make herself stop. Getting left behind once more, all alone in this cold dark attic, would be too hard to bear.

"D-did Juvia do something wrong?" she asked. There was a crack in her voice she tried to hide but was unsuccessful. She couldn't breathe. It felt like her whole world was crumbling down on her and her fragile porcelain self was slowly cracking.

Seeing the broke-hearted look on her face, Gray immediately amended and tried to soothe the girl inside the globe. "I-it's not what you think, Juvia!" he cried. He ruffled his dark locks in frustration and glared at the dirty floor. "Ah shit. How do I explain this properly?"

Juvia watched him stay silent for a while. His brows were furrowed furiously against each other, and if looks could kill, the floor would have been dead by now.

"You see…. it's sort of like this," he said, sighing. "Asuka will be visiting her grandfather, who currently lives in Crocus City, for 2 days. And whenever she does, she always brings us - her toys - together with her. So yeah, that's the reason why I can't visit you tomorrow."

As comprehension dawn on Juvia, it felt as if a huge shard of glass was pulled out from her heart and she was able to breathe properly again. Gray wasn't leaving her because he wanted to; it's because he _had_ to. His presence was needed by his owner and there was nothing he could do about it. It was his duty.

Smiling at the scowling toy on the other side of the glass dome, Juvia forced her voice to sound cheerful. "Juvia understands now. Thank you for explaining, Gray."

"But I promise I'll come back as soon as I can," he answered, voice full of conviction, as he placed his hand on the glass orb. He hated the coldness of the barrier that separated them. "And I'll bring you a souvenir, too."

_I wish you can come with us._

She laid her palm against his, with the glass still in between them, and smiled.

_Juvia wishes to come with you, too._

"I'll be waiting."


End file.
